Imprisoned for a Trillion Years, I Was Worshipped by All Gods!

At the very center of the swirling public opinion storm, within the grand halls of Lioncrest Academy—

Headmaster Stephen had summoned all the vice headmasters and senior mentors to the conference hall.

Those present here represented the very pinnacle of power within Lioncrest Academy.

Any conclusion reached in this room today could very well determine the Academy’s direction for years to come.

But today, Stephen hadn’t gathered these figures to discuss the Academy’s future.

Instead, after picking up the cup of steaming red tea in front of him and taking a small sip, he spoke in a calm voice,

“The Wind of Death, Uldar, and his entire musket squad…

Were wiped out by that Alan within a single minute.

Can someone explain to me exactly how this happened?!”

“Are you all certain you hired what you claim to be top-tier bounty hunters?!”

Facing Stephen’s direct questioning, no one in the conference hall dared to step forward and give a straight answer.

Was Uldar truly considered a top-tier bounty hunter?

Maybe not the top in the world, but still—he was undeniably among the elite.

After all, besides being a renowned bounty hunter, Uldar was himself a mage who had reached tier-gold strength.

Even within Lioncrest Academy, top students like Eisen and Beatrice wouldn’t dare to guarantee they could defeat him one-on-one.

Let alone take him down in less than a minute!

And yet, Alan had done it.

What’s more—Alan wasn’t even a tier-gold magus.

He was merely a tier-bronze!

A tier-bronze magus, slaughtering a squad of tier-gold mages within the span of a single minute—

Even if this story were spread across the kingdom, no one would believe it.

Though they hated to admit it, the onslaught of public scrutiny and ridicule left these leaders of Lioncrest Academy with no choice but to face reality:

Alan’s strength was truly beyond anything they had anticipated.

In fact, within the entire Plantagenet Kingdom, there might only be one individual who could confidently suppress him—Duke Alice of the Rose.

“Headmaster!”

A sharply-dressed middle-aged female professor stood up from the side seats and addressed Stephen,

“Since it’s now clear that Alan is not someone we can easily provoke,

There’s no point in continuing the bounty order.

Unless Duke Alice herself intervenes, there’s no one across all the kingdoms who can subdue him.

Sending more untrained bounty hunters like Uldar will only lead to more meaningless deaths.”

“In my opinion, the bounty should be temporarily revoked.

Otherwise, if we keep letting outsiders cross into the Imperial Capital, the Royal Family might grow suspicious of us.”

Stephen considered her words briefly, before shaking his head and waving his hand dismissively.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because Uldar was not the only one.”

“Hmm?”

The middle-aged female professor furrowed her brows slightly, confused.

But some of the quicker-witted individuals present quickly caught onto Stephen’s implication.

“Ah, Headmaster, brilliant insight!”

“One Uldar may fall, but there will be thousands more to rise and oppose that boy Alan!”

“Bounty hunters may not enjoy a stellar reputation among common folk, but among themselves, their network is deeply interconnected.

It’s even said that in some organizations, they refer to one another as family.”

Stephen leaned back in his chair, narrowing his eyes as he explained,

“Exactly.

Bounty hunters care little for public scorn,

But if someone dares to openly and brazenly harm one of their own,

These ‘hyenas,’ who value collective interests above all else,

Will never simply stand by and watch!”

“Alan likes to kill, doesn’t he? Fine.

Let him kill to his heart’s content.”

“There are millions of bounty hunters in this world.

He might be able to kill one.

But two?

Ten?

A hundred?”

Having said this, Stephen turned his sharp gaze back toward the female professor who had raised objections earlier.

“Professor Hermione,” he said gravely, “I understand your concerns.

But the Academy has its own compelling reasons to persist.

Tell me—do you remember our Academy’s founding creed?”

Hermione paused, thinking for a moment before calmly replying,

“To cultivate the finest elites…”

Stephen suddenly slammed the table with force, the sound echoing throughout the hall,

“Exactly! Elites!

Every single graduate of Lioncrest Academy stands among the most powerful and distinguished mages of their era.

This year is no exception.

We produced Beatrice and Eisen—two exceptionally promising talents.”

“But now, Eisen—the one we placed the most hope on—has been killed in battle.

Slain by a mere tier-bronze student from Sirius Academy!”

“Today, Lioncrest Academy has become the laughingstock of the entire Imperial Capital.”

“The nobility, the merchants, even the technical guilds—everyone is reconsidering their support.

They’re threatening to withdraw their investments and funding from us.”

“Without resources,

How are we supposed to cultivate the next generation of elites?!”

Hermione fell silent.

She understood.

As an alumna of Lioncrest Academy herself, she knew full well that the Academy’s success depended heavily on the hidden support of powerful factions.

In return, Lioncrest was expected to supply these factions with a steady stream of elite graduates—mages strong enough to act as personal guards and champions.

Now that Eisen was dead, there was no doubt they would fail to meet this year’s expectations.

The looming threat of severe reprimands from their benefactors was real.

And the prospect of a drastic resource shortage was even more terrifying.

Yet, as dire as these were, they weren’t what infuriated Stephen the most.

What truly made him burn with frustration was—

Alan should have been their student!

If Alan had chosen Lioncrest Academy,

then this year’s recruitment goals would not only have been met but surpassed.

Far from being censured, Stephen would have been lavishly rewarded.

The Academy’s funding would have swelled beyond measure.

And the already crumbling Sirius Academy would have likely collapsed completely.

Instead, because of Alan’s decision to join Sirius,

that decrepit institution had been miraculously revitalized,

and Lioncrest had been dragged into the mud!

Stephen once again slammed his palm onto the table, drawing everyone’s attention.

“The bounty must not be revoked.

On the contrary,

I intend to raise the stakes!”

He slowly raised three fingers,

his voice calm but firm,

“In addition to the previous rewards,

I will offer three additional incentives.

First—A tier-platinum elemental magic skill of the winner’s choosing.

Second—An additional reward of one million tier-three mana stones.

And third—

A temporary three-day access pass to the Academy’s underground miniature world—

The Lion’s Secret Realm!”

“However!” Stephen added sharply,

“These bonuses are not available simply for killing ordinary Sirius Academy students.

To claim them,

They must kill Alan!”

The entire hall erupted in hushed murmurs of astonishment.

“Headmaster, isn’t this a bit… excessive?”

The vice headmasters and senior professors were visibly shocked.

Any one of the three rewards Stephen listed would be enough to drive bounty hunters into a frenzy.

But now—he was offering all three at once!

For a reward this extravagant, bounty hunters wouldn’t just target a mere Alan.

If offered this kind of incentive, they would even dare to challenge tier-diamond powerhouses!

The risks were astronomical—

but the rewards were enough to tempt even the bravest of the brave.

After all, as the old saying goes:

“Where there is great reward, there will always be those willing to risk their lives.”

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